Who Wrote The “Atrocious” Lyrics For KATSEYE’s Controversial Song “Gnarly”? 

Reactions to KATSEYE‘s new song “Gnarly” have been mixed at best, with most criticism being directed at the lyrics.

KATSEYE | @katseyeworld/X

“Gnarly” has a clean and an explicit version, both written entirely in English. Since its release on April 29, netizens have been vocal about their distaste for the lyrics, which include lines like “Hottie, hottie, like a bag of Takis,” and “Obvi, obvi, they be tryna copy.”

the music video was so cutesy, but the lyrics are just not good 😭. "making beats for a dumb bitch (fucking gnarly)" LIKE GENUINELY WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN pic.twitter.com/oHMk1L7Ok5

— miia is seeing tyler, the creator 🫶🏽 (@pexchymia) April 30, 2025

Katseye I love you but Gnarly is awful, the lyrics are questionable….the record label set the girls up cus why is there like barely any singing #KATSEYE_Gnarly
pic.twitter.com/bnKXLr7LtN

— Bella🍒 (@doublecherry333) April 30, 2025

Who allowed gnarly out the studio bc the lyrics ??

— e⁷ (@bblueandgrey) April 30, 2025

So, who wrote the lyrics for “Gnarly”? According to the song’s credits, KATSEYE’s members didn’t contribute to the lyrics, which were written by Tim Randolph, Kyle Buckley, Alice Longyu Gao, Madison Love, and Jacob Kasher Hindlin.

Screenshot from the “Gnarly” music video

Tim Randolph served as a writer, producer, bassist, guitar synthesizer, and vocal producer for “Gnarly.” He has co-written songs for Imagine Dragons, such as “Levitate,” “Voices,” and “Cool Out,” Joji (“Feeling Like the End”), Nessa Barrett (“I Hope Ur Miserable Until Ur Dead”), and Erik Hassle (“Butterflies”)–just to name a few. 

Kyle Buckley (also known as Pink Slip) has co-written and produced songs for many artists as well, including NCT 127 (“Gas”), Kang Daniel (“Supernova”), EXO (“Cinderella”), and CIX (“Move My Body”).

Alice Longyu Gao is a Chinese singer, songwriter, DJ, and performance artist who helped pioneer the hyperpop music genre. On “Gnarly,” she is credited as a writer, and she contributed background vocals.

Jacob Kasher Hindlin (also known as J Kash and JKash) is credited as a writer for “Gnarly.” He has written hit songs for many major artists, including BTS‘s Jimin (“Be Mine”), Stray Kids (“Lose My Breath”), Jason Derulo (“Swalla”), and Celine Dion (“I’ll Be”).

Jacob Kasher Hindlin | Discogs.com

Like Gao, Madison Love (also known as Madison Emiko Love) is an American singer and songwriter who provided background vocals to “Gnarly” in addition to writing. She has co-written songs for top artists, including BLACKPINK (“The Girls”), Ava Max (“Sweet By Psycho”), Lady Gaga (“Sour Candy (feat. BLACKPINK)”), and Demi Lovato (“Easy”).

What are your thoughts on “Gnarly”? If you haven’t heard it yet, listen to it here: